Chapter 26

After sleeping for more than forty minutes, Chen Yao woke up. She opened her eyes and quietly looked at Lin Qiangsheng, then sighed with relief.

Lin Qiangsheng was leaning against the pillow, also sleeping.

The girl carefully lifted the small blanket covering her, then got up to put on her shoes.

"Are you leaving?" Lin Qiangsheng opened his eyes and looked at Chen Yao, asking.

Chen Yao's face turned red, and she nodded with a low voice. She hadn't even put her shoes on properly when she hurriedly opened the door and rushed out.

"Be careful! The snow outside is heavy and the roads are slippery!" Lin Qiangsheng shouted to Chen Yao.

"Ah!" Chen Yao cried out in pain, having walked too quickly and hit her hand on the door.

The girl endured the pain, opened the door, and ran out quickly, as if a big gray wolf was chasing her from behind.

Lin Qiangsheng watched Chen Yao's back through the window and shook his head with a smile.

On Monday morning, the sky cleared up. After the workers arrived, they all started sweeping the snow outside.

Lin Qiangsheng shoveled the snow into a wheelbarrow, and the accumulated snow was cleared to the riverbank behind the factory.

At this moment, Wang Daming entered the factory gate with three apprentices.

Lin Qiangsheng called out with a smile, "Master Wang, good morning!"

Wang Daming nodded at Lin Qiangsheng, but his usual cheerful smile was gone. Now, he was hunched over, and his large frame made him look like an old man.

Lin Qiangsheng adjusted his cap and looked at the sheet metal group, who all looked the same, and was momentarily stunned.

Chen Bing walked over, looked at Wang Daming and the others, and said in a low voice, "The sheet metal workshop is too demanding! Master Wang can't even lift his arms anymore."

Lin Qiangsheng nodded. The current car body shape had to be formed by hand. With the increasing number of car orders in the past two months, the production speed of the car bodies had become a bottleneck for the entire production process.

The sheet metal workshop, with over 20 people divided into five groups, could only produce 30 cars a month, even if they made a rough car body every five days. This quantity was far from enough.

In his previous life, the predecessor of Chery, a small parts factory, produced only about a hundred cars a year, which was about this level.

Now, the sheet metal workshop was the most overworked group in the factory, swinging iron hammers every day. If this continued, the workers would not be able to endure it.

After finishing shoveling the snow, Lin Qiangsheng stomped his feet outside and entered his drawing room. He now had an official position as the head of the mold workshop, which was half a level higher than a worker, making him a non-formal cadre.

Father Lin Xiangrong was writing notes at the table. Since he started attending the party school, the table was often occupied by him.

Lin Qiangsheng drank some water and asked his father, "Dad, can you talk to the factory manager and urge him to get our forging equipment?"

Lin Xiangrong stopped writing, turned around, and said, "They will send it to us once the casting factory is done."

Lin Qiangsheng looked at his father and nodded helplessly, saying, "The workers in the sheet metal workshop are too tired. I'm afraid they will all be exhausted if this continues!"

Lin Xiangrong nodded and said, "Okay, I'll talk to the factory manager when I go to the school later."

Lin Qiangsheng nodded, watching his father busy with his materials, and silently thought to himself, "Are you business leaders or cadres?"

He shook his head and sighed in frustration.

Lin Qiangsheng did not understand this cadre-style business management. For example, the factory was initially very active, but suddenly an administrative order came, and the leadership's focus shifted. The construction of the factory slowed down. Although the winter was a factor, the lack of enthusiasm from the factory leaders and their lack of focus on the factory affected the workers' morale.

Lin Qiangsheng was very disappointed with this situation, which he had not experienced in his previous life. He found it difficult to reconcile with this mindset, and the overall spirit of the factory was not what he wanted to see.

Lin Qiangsheng looked at the calendar on the wall; it was November 13th. According to the teachers and students at Harbin Institute of Technology, the college entrance examination would be held on December 10th this year.

This was the first year the college entrance examination was restored, and he thought about whether he should take it, even if just to change his mood.

"Dad, I want to take the college entrance examination this year," he said, looking up at his father.

Lin Xiangrong turned around in surprise and asked, "What? You want to take the college entrance examination?"

Lin Qiangsheng nodded and said, "Yes! I want to give it a try. Ask the factory manager to register me."

Lin Xiangrong asked in surprise, "You didn't even finish high school, and you want to take the college entrance examination? Can you pass?"

Lin Qiangsheng smiled and said, "I'll study on my own! Besides, it's the first year the exam is being held, so the questions might be simple. This year, factory workers' children and rural young adults can take the exam, but next year, the format might change, so I want to give it a try!"

In his previous life, Lin Qiangsheng worked in the factory for three years, then joined the army and went to the front lines in the Laoshan Campaign in 1982 as a truck driver.

Being a truck driver on the front lines was extremely dangerous. Everyone had to be multi-skilled, dealing with harassment and snipers from the enemy, and facing ambushes by regular reconnaissance troops. Lin Qiangsheng encountered landmines and snipers multiple times, and was injured and bled.

In this life, if Lin Qiangsheng could pass the college entrance examination, his life would take a different path.

Just like his parents in this life, who changed because of Lin Qiangsheng's influence, both became cadres. His mother, Xu Hongmei, even took a leadership position, managing a health care system of moderate size.

The future of the entire family had been completely changed because of Lin Qiangsheng's rebirth.

Lin Xiangrong looked at his son and nodded, saying, "Write an application letter yourself. Qiangsheng, work hard. If you don't pass this year, you can try again next year. As long as you don't regret not trying hard enough in the future, that's all that matters!"

Lin Qiangsheng smiled and nodded, picked up a pen, and wrote the application letter on a piece of paper. He tore it off and handed it to his father, saying, "Dad, give it to the factory manager. I'll go home to study."

Lin Xiangrong nodded and watched his son pick up his bag and walk out the door.

Chen Bing, Zou Xue, and others saw Lin Qiangsheng with his bag and didn't think much of it, assuming he was going to see the factory manager.

Lin Qiangsheng waved to them and walked out of the workshop.

On the way, he decided to go to Chen Yao's school first.

He took the bus and arrived near the city's first high school after about 20 minutes.

Lin Qiangsheng walked into the school and went directly to the second-year high school floor, looking into each classroom.

"Second-year, fourth class, this must be it," Lin Qiangsheng peered through the window and finally found Chen Yao sitting by the window.

The students were in a Chinese class, so Lin Qiangsheng waited outside for a while.

Soon, the bell rang, and the teacher and students came out.

"Classmate, can you call Chen Yao for me? Thanks!" Lin Qiangsheng stopped a girl sitting near Chen Yao.

The girl, with two braids, big eyes, and a round face, turned to look at Lin Qiangsheng, smiled, and nodded. She ran back into the classroom and whispered a few words to Chen Yao.

Chen Yao was stunned and looked toward the door, seeing Lin Qiangsheng waving at her.

"Who is he? Are you going to him?" the girl asked with a smile, repeating the question twice.

Chen Yao bit her lip and slowly stood up, walking to the door.

"Why did you come?" Chen Yao asked, looking at Lin Qiangsheng.

Lin Qiangsheng smiled and said, "I registered for the college entrance examination and wanted to tell you."

Chen Yao said "Oh" and then asked in surprise, "Really? Can you pass?"

Lin Qiangsheng chuckled and said, "Physics and chemistry are tough, so I registered for the liberal arts."

Chen Yao's mouth formed an "O" as she asked in surprise, "You only studied for less than a month, and you know all the liberal arts books?"

Lin Qiangsheng smiled and said, "More or less, I remember what I've read. This is the first year the exam is being held, and I think the questions will be in the books. I want to seize this opportunity and not miss it. What do you think?"

Chen Yao nodded and said, "Everyone says that, and I want to register too, but I haven't finished all the books yet!"

Chen Yao sighed and pouted in frustration.

Lin Qiangsheng looked into the classroom and asked, "Is your classroom crowded? Can I come in and listen?"

"Ah? No, our school is very strict, and the teacher will say something," Chen Yao shook her head, worried.

Lin Qiangsheng nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go to the bookstore. Come to my house tonight?"

Chen Yao nodded and said, "Okay."

Lin Qiangsheng waved and turned to leave.

"Hey? Why are you coming to my house?!" Chen Yao came to her senses, looking at Lin Qiangsheng's back, and muttered to herself.